A federal report says 29 percent of Iowa’s adults are severely overweight.
The report issued Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Colorado had the lowest figure, at just below 21 percent, while Mississippi had the highest at nearly 36 percent.
Iowa’s neighbor to the west, Nebraska, had a rate of 28.4 percent.
Catherine Lillehoj of the Iowa Department of Public Health says the 2011 statistics aren’t directly comparable to previous numbers because of changes in collection methods.
Lillehoj says there have been dramatic increases in obesity across the nation, mainly because of poor diets and lack of exercise. Obesity is often accompanies by health problems, including diabetes and heart disease.
